Boston University (8-1, 5-0 Patriot League) opened the game by scoring eight unanswered goals by six different players en route to a 17-9 victory over the Navy men's lacrosse team (6-4, 2-2) Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field in Boston, Mass.

"We didn't put our best effort on the field today, but credit Ryan Polley and his staff for having their team ready and executing their game plan," said third-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo. "We have a long way to go and need to put in a lot of hard work to be able to compete with the likes of the top teams in our league like Boston."

Boston and Navy entered the contest tied for No. 3 in the country in scoring defense with the Terriers looking stout in first quarter. Boston held Navy scoreless in the opening quarter for the first time since Loyola blanked the Mids a year ago, while it also marked the first time Navy was held without a goal in any quarter this season.

BU, who boasts the nation's ninth-best scoring offense, scored 6-straight goals with Tommy Bourque and Timmy Ley contributing 2 apiece during the run. The Terriers scored the first 2 goals of the second frame that included a goal by Vince D'Alto, the nation's fifth-leading point producer who also extended his point-scoring streak to 24-consecutive games.

Navy was held without a goal for the first 20:29 of the contest before Jon Jarosz (So / A / Gambrills, Md.) redirected a shot by Henry Tolker (Fr / A / Catonsville, Md.) that careened off Boston U. goalkeeper Matt Garber. That goal sparked a 3-0 run by the Mids, as Navy tacked on targets by Dane Swanson (So / St. Mary's City, Md.) and a second by Jarosz to close the gap to 5 at 8-3 with 4:25 to go in the second frame.

The Navy defense, sparked by a change in goal with Gabe Craven (So / Monroe Township, N.J.) entering the game at 10:54 in the second quarter, held the Terriers scoreless for just over 10 minutes before Tommy Bourque threaded his diagonal pass through the middle of the field and Tewaaraton Award Watch List member Vince D'Alto punched in the final goal of the half (37.0) to give BU a 9-3 lead.

The Mids scored the first-two goals of the second half to cut the deficit to four (9-5). Co-captain Nick Cole (Sr / A / Ashburn, Va.) intercepted a clearing pass by BU long-stick midfielder Roy Meyer 5 yards in front of the goal and punched in his first goal of the afternoon. Meanwhile, Swanson notched his second of the contest when he targeted a 12-yard shot up the middle off an assist by Patrick Skalniak (Jr / Dallas, Texas).

BU, however would go on to score four of the next five goals in the quarter, including three straight to give the Terriers a 13-6 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The Terriers closed it out by outscoring Navy 4-2 in the fourth quarter to not only remain atop the Patriot League standings at 5-0, but also clinch a spot in the Patriot League Tournament set for May 5-8.

Two of the biggest factors in the game were faceoffs and turnovers. Navy not only won just 8 of the 22 draws on the day, it also was whistled for 6 faceoff violations, two of which led to 30-second penalties. Under Armour All-American Conor Calderone won 19 of the 26 faceoffs he took for BU and grabbed 9 ground balls, while Navy tried 4 different players to counter Boston's dominance at the "x."

Meanwhile, Navy recorded a season-high 23 turnovers in the contest, including turnovers on its first-three possessions of the game. The only other game this season Navy has turned the ball over 20 times was the Manhattan contest in which the Mids had 21 turnovers.

Jarosz, Cole and Swanson led the Mids with 2 goals apiece, while Bryson Rhee (So / M / Ephrata, Pa.), Ryan Magnuson (Sr / M / Northport, N.Y.) and James Flannery (Jr / M / Garrett Park, Md.) all contributed a goal.

Craven played better than 37 minutes in relief of starting goalkeeper Pat Ryan (Jr / Groton, Mass.) who left the game with just a single save and having yielded 8 goals. Craven, who made just his second-career appearance (1:45 vs. Hofstra), turned in a career-high 7 saves while giving up 9 goals.

D'Alto, a Tewaaraton Award Watch List member, paced the Terriers with 5 goals, while Timmy Ley turned in a team-best 8 points on 4 goals and 4 assists. Garber finished with 7 saves and allowed 7 of the 9 Navy goals.

The Midshipmen return home next Saturday when they play host to Loyola (4-5, 3-1) in a game nationally televised by CBS Sports Network. Faceoff is set for 1:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

### Go Navy ###